Page 41 of Mr. Darcy's Runaway Bride
“Some might call it fortitude,” Darcy said, meeting Elizabeth’s amused glance with a rueful one of his own.
“A quality Mrs Darcy appears to share,” the Colonel observed. “It must require considerable resolve to manage the transition to mistress of an estate such as this, particularly with so little preparation.”
“I have excellent guidance,” Elizabeth acknowledged, with a nod towards Darcy that pleased him inordinately. “Both from Mr Darcy and from the staff, who have been most patient with my inexperience.”
“She has a natural aptitude for management,” Darcy said, hearing the pride in his own voice and unable to suppress it. “Already, Mrs Reynolds consults her on matters she would previously have brought only to me.”
“High praise indeed,” Colonel Fitzwilliam remarked. “Mrs Reynolds is not one to relinquish authority lightly.”
Their conversation continued in this manner through another cup of tea, touching on estate matters, local news, and the Colonel’s military duties. Throughout, Darcy found himself increasingly relaxed and comfortable, the presence of both his cousin and his wife creating an atmosphere of domestic harmony he had not experienced since his parents’ deaths.
As they rose from the table, Colonel Fitzwilliam turned to Elizabeth. “Mrs Darcy, might I impose upon you for a tour of the conservatory? I have not seen it for some while.”
“I should be delighted,” Elizabeth replied, “though I must warn you, my knowledge of exotic plants is limited to what I have gleaned from books.”
“I have business to attend to with Parker,” Darcy said, suddenly conscious that his cousin might wish for private conversation with Elizabeth. The thought caused a momentary unease, quickly dismissed. Richard was, after all, the person he trusted most in the world. “Will you stay for dinner, Richard?”
“If the invitation is extended.”
“Always,” Darcy assured him. “Elizabeth, shall I join you in the conservatory when I have concluded my meeting with Mr Parker?”
“We shall expect you there,” she replied, her smile warming him unexpectedly.
As he made his way to the estate office, Darcy reflected on the morning’s exchange. His cousin had observed an ease between them that he had felt but not fully acknowledged.
He recalled the fierce protectiveness he had felt when his family’s attitudes were mentioned, the pride he took in herquick mind and adaptability, the pleasure her smile brought him. These were not the sentiments he had anticipated when proposing their alliance.
Moreover, he had been entirely truthful in his statement to Richard, he had recognised something in Elizabeth with unexpected clarity that day in the park. Something that had compelled him to make the most impulsive decision of his life—a decision he found himself unable to regret, despite the complications it entailed.
With an effort, he drew his mind back to the business at hand. His steward, Mr Parker would arrive shortly with questions about the south tenant farms, and Darcy could not afford to be distracted by personal considerations, however pressing they had become.
But the thought lingered, like a whispered question awaiting an answer. What if their pretence was pretence no more?
Chapter 14
Elizabeth
As Elizabeth led Colonel Fitzwilliam towards the conservatory, she sensed he had requested this private audience for a purpose beyond admiring exotic plants. The Colonel had been nothing but charming throughout breakfast, yet beneath his easy manner lay a shrewdness that reminded her of his cousin.
“Mrs Darcy—or may I call you Elizabeth, as we are family now, after all?” he asked as they walked along the passage.
“Elizabeth would be preferable, Colonel,” she replied. “It seems rather formal to stand on ceremony with one who knows the peculiar circumstances of our marriage.”
“Then I insist you call me Richard in return,” he said with a smile. “Though perhaps not before the servants—appearances must be maintained, after all.”
They entered the conservatory, which was a magnificent glass structure filled with plants from across the globe. Sunlight filtered through the foliage, creating patterns on the tiled floor. The warmth and fragrance enveloped them immediately, a stark contrast to the cool stone passages of Pemberley.
“This was designed by my cousin’s father,” Richard explained, gesturing to the elegant iron framework. “The late Mr Darcy had a passion for botany. His wife—Darcy’s mother—found it soothing to walk here during the winter months when the grounds were covered in snow.”
Elizabeth trailed her fingers over the leaf of a large palm. “It is beautiful. I have visited it several times since arriving at Pemberley, but know shamefully little about the specimens.”
“Lady Anne would have taken great pleasure in teaching you,” Richard said. “She had the same joy in sharing knowledge that Darcy possesses, though she expressed it more readily.”
They wandered along the stone path between flowering shrubs and hanging vines before Richard spoke again, his tone more serious.
“I hope you will forgive my directness, Elizabeth, but I must ask—are you content with your situation here? With my cousin?”
Elizabeth paused beside a bench, considering her response carefully. “That is a rather personal question, Colonel—Richard.”
